IIGCC report identifies key policy wins to accelerate UK climate and nature investment under Andy Burnham’s premiership

The report sets out five priority areas for government action to unlock investment, support competitiveness and strengthen resilience.

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) has published a new report, From Ambition to Delivery: Assessing the UK’s success in capturing the economic opportunities of the energy transition, identifying the key policy priorities needed to help Andy Burnham and his new ministerial team translate climate ambition into investable opportunities at scale.

The report highlights the scale of the opportunity for the UK. CBI figures show the green economy grew 10% in 2024 while the rest of the economy flatlined, and by June 2026 the UK’s net zero economy was generating around £105 billion in Gross Value Added and supporting 1.1 million full-time equivalent jobs. IIGCC says the UK is well placed to strengthen its position as a leading destination for climate- and nature-aligned investment, provided government now focuses on turning strategy into delivery.

“Investors are ready to back the UK’s transition, but ambition must now be matched by delivery. The case for action is increasingly driven by energy security, economic resilience and competitiveness. More competitive energy costs, clearer implementation and visible investable pipelines will be essential to unlock capital at the scale required." – Chris Dodwell, Co-Chair of IIGCC’s UK Policy Working Group

Five priority areas

The report sets out five priority areas for government action to unlock investment, support competitiveness and strengthen resilience:

• Move from strategy to delivery through a whole-of-government approach.
• Strengthen the industrial strategy by aligning public finance institutions, sector priorities and policy delivery to create visible, bankable investment pipelines.
• Scale adaptation and resilience investment through a clear resource mobilisation strategy and public-private financing models.
• Operationalise nature markets by integrating Biodiversity Net Gain, the Land Use Framework and Nature Investment Standards into a coherent system with strong demand signals.
• Deliver a coherent financial regulatory framework, including implementing UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and mandatory transition plans for high-impact sectors.

The report also makes a series of practical investor recommendations aimed at helping government convert ambition into delivery, including stronger coordination across departments, clearer investment pipelines, better support for adaptation finance, and more comparable sustainability and transition disclosures.

"This report is intended as a practical guide for turning climate ambition into investable opportunity. The UK has the building blocks in place; the priority now is to move faster on delivery, strengthen policy coherence and create the clear, durable pathways that institutional capital needs." – Faith Ward, Co-Chair of IIGCC’s UK Policy Working Group

IIGCC says energy costs remain a central constraint on competitiveness and investment, and that clearer policy signals, stable frameworks and stronger delivery mechanisms will be essential if the UK is to capture the economic opportunity of the transition. The report concludes that institutional capital remains available, but only where policy is clear, durable and credible.

IIGCC stands ready to work with government as a constructive partner to help translate policy ambition into investable markets, support long-term economic resilience and strengthen the UK’s position in the global transition.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Tommaso Mazzanti
Media Relations Senior Manager, IIGCC
tmazzanti@iigcc.org
+44 7470994187